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THE PREMIUM CLOTHIER BRANDS HUNTER-REAY'S RIDE IN CALIFORNIA
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (April. 15, 2009) - Vision Racing is pleased to announce that it has partnered with People's Liberation, Inc. to race the team's No. 21 Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine with William Rast branding in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend.
In an impressive debut run with Vision Racing for the 2009 IndyCar Series season-opening event on the streets of St. Petersburg, Ryan Hunter-Reay drove the No. 21 machine from the 14th spot all the way to the podium with a second place finish. With a new look, courtesy of William Rast, Hunter-Reay is looking for a repeat performance at Long Beach, Calif. and back-to-back podium finishes to begin the 2009 IndyCar season in style.
"William Rast CEO, Colin Dyne is a good friend and has been very involved behind the scenes and supportive of the efforts to get Ryan (Hunter-Reay) a full season run with Vision," said team owner Tony George. "This week the William Rast branded #21 will debut will with the team for its inaugural run at the "Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach". Throughout the season we expect to see a variety of creative expression coming from this activation."
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be a home race for the pair as Hunter-Reay is a resident of Dana Point, Calif. and William Rast is based out of Los Angeles, Calif. Not to mention, the backdrop of Southern California makes for the perfect setting for William Rast to prominently feature its logo and moniker.
"We are excited to be the sponsor for the #21 Vision racing entry, and to have the opportunity to work with both the George family, and Ryan Hunter-Reay. As a premium lifestyle brand entrenched in the iconography of American denim heritage, William Rast is proud to take part in one of our country's most tradition-rich racing series, and the heritage of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach," says Colin Dyne, Chief Executive Officer of People's Liberation, Inc.
William Rast also joins a strong sponsorship portfolio at Vision Racing which includes the likes of Menards, Lilly, SONAX, IZOD, Johns Manville, Energizer, Moen, Peak Antifreeze, Pittsburgh Paints, Sylvania, SuperClean and Quaker State.
Hunter-Reay will be making his fourth attempt at Long Beach, only this time will be his first in an Indycar as he will pilot the No. 21 William Rast special this weekend.
"I've worn William Rast jeans since before I met Colin [Dyne] and now that we've been working very close over the past couple of months to put a deal together, I'm just glad to see a William Rast car with me driving it; especially after all of the hard work that's gone into it," said Ryan Hunter-Reay of his relationship with Colin Dyne and William Rast. "It's great to represent a brand like William Rast and IZOD, so I'm just pleased with the fact that we have them both involved with the Vision Racing program."
Previously, Hunter-Reay has driven the streets of Long Beach three times for three different teams in the Champ Car World Series. His best finish there is seventh, scored two times in 2003 and 2004. His debut at Long Beach came in 2003 with American Spirit Team Johansson where he started 12th and finished seventh. The following year he drove for Herdez Competition, started sixth, his best start at Long Beach, and finished seventh.
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About People's Liberation, Inc.: Los Angeles-based People's Liberation markets and sells high-end casual apparel under the brand names "People's Liberation," "William Rast" and, in the United States, "J. Lindeberg." The majority of the merchandise we offer consists of premium denim, knits, wovens, golf wear and outerwear for men and women. In the United States, we distribute our merchandise to better specialty stores, boutiques and department stores, such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Fred Segal. We also market and sell J. Lindeberg branded collection and golf apparel through our flagship retail store in New York City and J. Lindeberg golf wear to green grass golf stores and boutiques in the United States. Internationally, in select countries, we sell our William Rast branded apparel products directly and through distributors to better department stores and boutiques throughout the world.
www.williamrast.com / www.jlindebergusa.com
About the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach: The 85 lap/167.28 mile Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will air live on Sunday, April 19 at 3:30 p.m. ET on VERSUS, as well as IMS Radio Network, XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145, XM Sports Nation Channel 144 and on the web at www.IndyCar.com. VERSUS will also air a live qualifying show on Saturday at 6:00 pm EST.
About Vision Racing: Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC's Grey's Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition. In the past calendar year, the team has scored nine top-ten finishes and five additional top-five finishes including a fifth place finish in the Indianapolis 500 by Ed Carpenter and a second place run by Ryan Hunter-Reay on the streets of St.Petersburg in the 2009 season opener. The team features returning IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and welcomed veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay for 2009. Also new for 2009 is a return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series with driver James Davison, as well as a technical partnership with new FIL team Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Daniel Herrington. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Racing.
www.VisionRacing.com / www.Twitter.com/VisionRacing / www.YouTube.com/VisionRacing / www.Facebook.com
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